Virtual Idol in the Beast World: Five Clans Fight Over Me

Gu Ning and Alex took a half-day off.

The move itself was over quickly. Worried about Barto and Cook, she waited for them to wake up at the new place.

It was called a new residence, but in reality, it wasn’t much different from her old place.

Aside from her two locked chests, Kloer and the others had arranged everything to look exactly like her previous home.

The only new addition was a heater placed in the middle of the living room.

"The boss made it," Kloer said as he gave her the heater. "I saw how sensitive you are to the cold, so this is to keep you warm. There’s an Energy Baryte inside. It’s very energy-efficient and should last you until spring."

The heater looked like an overturned pot propped up on three cylindrical legs. She had no idea what its internal structure was or how it worked, but its surface maintained a pleasant temperature. Gu Ning draped a blanket over it, then tucked her hands and feet underneath—

Pure bliss!

Gu Ning placed her feet under the pot-like heater and rested her hands on its surface. In no time, her body was pleasantly warm, and she felt so comfortable she wanted to lie right down and go to sleep.

But she couldn’t sleep just yet—Barto and Cook were awake.

The moment he woke up, Cook clung to her, sniffing her intently and making a rumbling purr she had rarely heard before. He then proceeded to lick and nuzzle her, only stopping when she firmly pushed his head down and quietly reminded him that Barto was present.

As for Barto...

Gu Ning glanced toward a corner of the living room.

Barto sat in his little den with his back to her, completely silent.

After waking up, he had wandered around the room once before settling into that position, and he hadn’t moved since.

Gu Ning had planned to talk to him about the move, but now it seemed there was no need. ’He’s clearly unhappy with the new place.’

Gu Ning stared at Barto’s furry back, unable to gauge his mood. He often grumbled and cursed at her and Cook, but he had never been this quiet.

"Ning..." Cook whined, seeing Gu Ning staring only at Barto. He grabbed her hand and licked it.

Gu Ning petted him, then stood up, walked over to Barto, and squatted down. She poked him with a finger before holding a note out in front of him: *Don’t you like the new place?*

When Barto saw that she had finally come to talk to him, he shot her a sidelong glance, crumpled her note into a ball, and tossed it carelessly onto the floor.

Gu Ning: "..."

She held out another note: *I was going to discuss it with you, but there wasn’t time.*

Barto’s eyes shifted. He crumpled this note and threw it away too, even scooting a little farther from her.

Gu Ning tried again: *It was too dangerous for us to live there. Someone was following us.*

Upon seeing this note, Barto’s tense expression eased slightly. He snorted.

’Even a pathetically weak Mixed Breed like Gu Ning could tell they were being followed. Who else could it be but that leopard who was deliberately strutting around in front of them?’

’I’m not afraid of that leopard at all. No one can leave Zone 19 during the winter anyway.’

’What I’m worried about is that scheming construction site manager!’

Gu Ning handed him a note: *You and Cook need to be careful. Try not to leave Cook’s side.*

After reading it, Barto crumpled the note, threw it on the floor, and stood up. "What, you want me to pin him to my waistband?!"

Gu Ning stared at the furious little fox, completely baffled. ’What’s gotten into him?’

She quickly wrote: *But you’re friends.*

’Barto knew Cook long before I did, and he’s always been looking out for him.’

"WOOF!" Seeing Barto yell at Gu Ning, Cook bared his teeth and rushed to stand protectively in front of her.

Before Gu Ning could pull Cook back, Barto swiped a paw at him. "Stupid dog, get lost!"

"Arf?" Cook sensed Barto’s bad mood and looked at him in confusion.

Gu Ning quickly pushed Cook aside to keep him from getting hit again.

Just as she was about to placate Barto, he demanded, "Why is *he* so good to you?!"

’Him? Who?’

’Alex?’

Barto continued, "Why do you listen to everything he says! He tells you to move, and you just move? Couldn’t you even wait for me to wake up?! Who is he to you? Why do you trust him so much!"

Gu Ning was at a loss. ’I knew I should have discussed it with the little fox. Look how furious he is.’

’But I was so scared back then! Living right across from that creepy stalker, even coming face-to-face with him... who would dare stay there?’

Looking at the little fox, whose fur seemed to be bristling with anger, Gu Ning sighed helplessly. She wished she could just speak and explain everything to him right now.

’But knowing Barto’s personality and temper, I’m even more afraid to let him know my true identity.’

Gu Ning tentatively reached out to stroke the little fox’s head, trying to soothe him.

’When I look at this fluffy, adorable little fox, I can’t bring myself to feel wronged or angry, whether he’s cursing at me or yelling in my face.’

’After all, I used to live in the human world. Where else would I see a talking fox with such a wide range of emotions? It’s all so new to me.’

’Besides, the little fox is just worried about me.’

Just as her hand touched the little fox’s head, he slapped it away. "Don’t touch me!"

"Whine!" Cook barked at Barto in displeasure, taking Gu Ning’s rejected hand and licking it comfortingly. Gu Ning took the opportunity to stroke his head.

Seeing how close the two of them were, Barto swished his tail in irritation.

Just then, Gu Ning’s hand came to rest on his head again.

He grimaced and slapped her hand away again, though much more gently this time.

Seeing this, Gu Ning went back to stroking his head.

This time, Barto didn’t move. He just crossed his arms and lowered his gaze, putting on an air of being completely inconsolable.

Gu Ning stroked his head a couple of times before pulling her hand back and holding out a note: *Okay, don’t be angry. I was just scared of the person following us.*

’I won’t mention the new place or Alex again,’ she thought. ’I don’t want to provoke the little fox any more.’

’I’ll wait until he’s calmed down to talk about it.’

’I don’t know why he has such a big problem with Alex. It shouldn’t be like this; he was praising him before.’

Barto was silent for a moment before asking, "Was he the one who bailed us out? That Alex."

Gu Ning paused, then wrote: *Yes, it was him. I still have to pay him back for our bail money.*

Barto pursed his lips and rubbed the sore back of his neck. "He shot me."

Gu Ning’s mouth fell slightly open. ’Wait... so Barto is holding a grudge?’

Just as she was trying to figure out what to say, Barto abruptly changed the subject. "Why didn’t you wait for me?"

Gu Ning couldn’t follow his train of thought. She went to scratch her head, but her fingers only met the hard, cold surface of her helmet.

For some reason, Barto suddenly grew angry again. "If Cook hadn’t been there, you wouldn’t have bothered with me, would you?"

Gu Ning drew in a sharp breath. Her mind raced, and she thought she finally understood the real reason for Barto’s anger.

She wrote immediately: *No, of course not. I was just worried because Cook ran off.*

Barto retorted, "So what if that guy ran off? A guy his size isn’t going to get lost. He was obviously just going home."

’She could have at least waited for me to get out so we could look for him together. Couldn’t she have waited just a minute or two? Or left me a little note or something?’

’The girl stuffs her pockets with a bunch of notes every day, so what’s the big deal with leaving one for me?’

Voicing his thoughts made him feel much better, yet he still found himself inexplicably wanting Gu Ning to console him.

Even he found his own anger baffling.

"No... yell," Cook mumbled, sensing the brewing argument between the two. Realizing he was part of the reason, he lay down between them.

Gu Ning couldn’t help but smile.

Barto gave him a light kick. "You... get out of here. Stay away from my den."

Not wanting them to fight, Cook let out a yelp and shuffled to the side.

’As long as Barto doesn’t bully Ningning, he’s still my good friend.’

With the interruption, Barto’s anger dissipated. He awkwardly changed the subject. "His degeneration has gotten worse."

Gu Ning immediately wrote: *Aren’t the Purification Crystal Stones enough?*

Barto explained, "He was stuck in the police station for two days, and the stress aggravated his condition. He needs a highly concentrated Degeneration Inhibitor now. The Crystal Stones won’t be much use otherwise."

Gu Ning wrote: *Can we buy one?*

Barto said, "It’s hard to say. In any case, you need to have the money ready. Degeneration Inhibitors are very expensive."

Gu Ning wrote: *I have the money. The amount doesn’t matter.*

Barto read her note and fell silent. After waiting a moment, and without waiting for her to ask, he held out his hand. "Money! Give me two million to start!"

He had just blurted out the number, not expecting Gu Ning to immediately open her terminal and transfer the funds to him.

Seeing the money arrive in his account, Barto was momentarily stunned. Then, he stormed out of the room in a huff.

"SLAM!"

The door slammed shut. Barto stood outside for a moment, then opened his paw. A small Detection Device rested in his palm.

After a few seconds, the data appeared on the screen—

51.7%

"..."